On 10 February 2026, the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria – North Macedonia Programme held its official meeting, during which the results of the Call for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises were reviewed and formally approved. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works of the Republic of Bulgaria, Yura Yordanova-Vitanova, and co-chaired by Stefan Vangelski from the Ministry of Local Self-Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.
With this decision, the members of Monitoring Committee confirmed the successful completion of the evaluation and selection process and endorsed the list of 11 projects that will receive financial support under the call and reserve list of 15 project proposals.
The approved projects are focused on the expansion, technological upgrade, and modernization of SMEs across the cross-border region between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. With a total budget of €5.782.838,31 million, the supported initiatives are expected to strengthen the competitiveness of local businesses, stimulate innovation, improve production capacities, and encourage the introduction of modern technologies and processes. The investments will also contribute to more sustainable and resilient business models and to deeper cross-border economic cooperation.
The call attracted strong interest from the SME sector, highlighting the clear need for targeted financial support that enables companies to grow, diversify, and adapt to changing market conditions. Through the selected projects, enterprises will have the opportunity to improve their operational efficiency, develop new products and services, and build lasting cross-border partnerships.
Members of the Monitoring Committee emphasized that supporting small and medium-sized enterprises remains a core priority of the Programme, given their key role in regional development, employment, and innovation. The approval of the results represents an important implementation milestone and ensures continuity in delivering tangible benefits to the cross-border area.
The next phase will focus on the completion of the final procedural steps, followed by the signing of contracts with the projects approved for funding, enabling beneficiaries to proceed with the implementation of their planned activities.